Return of the Lost Lord

We arrived in Jord, which seemed untouched by the troubles plaguing the West. Visited an old friend and relaxed at the Flipped Turtle, highly recommended. Careful though she’s a Golddigger. The needs of the country could not be put off for long. We crossed the wondrous bridge, and looked for a boat to Morrlund. Captain Kovan and his crew were generous enough though a bit rough around the edges.
The voyage went quick, just as quick the captain left us on the docks of the half-burned city. Then quickly reminded why I left this droll place. Thankfully someone much more knowledgeable than us, rescued us and sent us to Aegwin, to warn them of the next attack.
-Smokejack

Into the heart of death itself

After making it to Oria my companions decided to seek out the Druid, Daely. It didn’t take us long to find her in the infirmary. She was working to keep the injured from slipping to the afterlife. There are many that would call this noble. And she certainly took this duty seriously.

She understood how to prevent death, a topic of little interest to me. I broke away and found Oria’s library. I was able to discover more information about my brother’s current state. I discovered that he is a Boneclaw! This diabolical undead nightmare from hell will be quite the task to handle. I must practice more if I am going to stand a chance against him.

After a few hours of study, I decided to meet back up with my companions at the Flying Fish Inn. I found out from Smokejack and Lavinia that we were setting out with Daely in the morning. It appears that the Lannerethian Council is taking refuge in a protect portion of the forest nearby. All this means for me is that we have miles of forest to traverse. This is a lot of ground to cover and plenty of places for the undead to hide. I just pray we don’t stumble into Nathan while we are out there. We are unprepared and I am not convinced that Daely could best him in combat.

We prepare for our travels early in the morning and meet with Daely at the north most gate of the city. She moves with unnatural purpose and haste for an Elvan woman who is long overdue in this world. She mentioned that our location was ‘her’ part of the forest. I’m not entirely sure what that means but I hope it changes from the dreary landscape that stands before me. The rain is coming down and the land is definitely suffering at the hands of the dark magic surrounding the army of undead we are maneuvering around.

By my guess, we traveled for no more than half a day when we encountered our first group of undead. By my count we are looking at four undead hounds and a humanoid outfit in robes. We only had a few moments to prepare ourselves for the coming battle!

I drew my hammer and spoke for the first time during our trek. “They are coming” is all I spoke as I loosed a Kelgore’s Firebolt at one of the hounds initiating the coming battle. The firebolt races through the forest and smashes into the lead hound. Now with molten rock embed into the rotting flesh of the beast it charges with its three other companions. My warning came just in time and Daely was surrounded but managed to keep their attacks at bay long enough for Lavinia, Smokejack and Sanjin to intervene. My contest lept into the fray. “This is no ordinary undead” my mind races through all my study as I spot it casting Expedious Retreat. I was able to prepare for my opponent and met him head on! His claws clashed against my hammer as I came at him with everything I had. His stench filled the air as he roared in my face. I knew from that first clash that this foe would not fell as easily as that Dwarven mercenary back in Valbridge. I managed to push him back breaking his forward progress. As I ready myself to strike again this hellspawn lunges with unnatural speed, biting and clawing at me with a ferocity like I have never seen. ‘It is only at the precipice of death do we truly feel alive.’ I say to myself. ‘This beast will take me to the edge.’ I manage to block all of his incoming attacks and come back at him channeling all of my arcane power into a single blow. I catch him in the lower abdomen. My strike feels like it hit a solid brick wall. The head of my hammer bounces off this creature’s hide and the electrical pulses merely singe his hide. In amazement that at my most powerful I couldn’t but singe this beast I was taken back. Just enough time for my foe to swipe the back of his clawed hand striking me in the side. The force of his blow was tremendous! I hear my ribs cracking under the force. Out of the corner of my eye I see Sajin enter the fray to assist me. His blows seem to hit the same wall mine did. As Sajin strikes the beast turns his attention for a moment. Willing the pain of my ribs away I lunge forward a swing the head of my hammer wide, aiming for the beast’s head. I do not remember if I connected or not. I must have left myself open for another strike, because the next thing I remember is standing up with blood pouring down my face. I look for my foe and see that he has doubled in size! I’m feeling my head get light, I’ve lost a lot of blood and I know I cannot continue this fight. I retreat and try to offer aid to my allies from afar. I work my way behind a tree to regain my thoughts. I’m certain it is moderately safe for me to peak around the tree and loose a Disrupt Undead spell. As I peer around my foe instantly turns and charges me! My vision fades to black and my last thoughts are “Death’s door… at last!”

My vision returns and I awake to witness Daely and my companions standing over the newly re-dead corpse of my foe. I found out quickly that Daely struck it down using her powers to manipulate the weather and calling lighting to aid us. Apparently she is more powerful than even I anticipated. Also, in line with my original observation, she healed all our wounds. A painful experience; having your ribs magically put back together is.

We continued forward on our journey to meet with the council. Daely lead us through an area that seemed to be protected from the raging storm that is, obviously, magical in nature. This land makes me sick. Every animal going against the natural selection. Everything is joyous. Too joyous. We eventually make our way to a small cave cut out of a hill with a massive dwarf guarding the entrance in. I can see that this man has seen more than his fair share of battle and would be more than a match for me.

Daely walks past the guard with not even a nod. As we go to follow her we are staunchly halted! We travel all this way just to have our progress inhibited by a man more stoic than Sajin! This is highly frustrating.

We wait for almost an hour before Lavinia convinces this dwarf to allow her to pass. Shortly after that we are allowed inside. We enter into a room that is deceptively big with a round stone table inside. Surrounding this table are the Lannereth council members. They were discussing the origins on the Undead army and the situation at Morrlund, the Dwarven capitol. Our group provided as much information as we could.

As a reward we were gifted a large sum of coin and tasked with traveling to Morrlund and finding out. This task excites me! This should take us right to the heart of the undead. Maybe in our time there I’ll uncover and master the secrets of undeath!

As we set out back to Oria to restock and resupply for the journey we meet an Elvan Warrior. His armor shined in the sun, his sword was larger than life. He represented everything good in the world walking in one damn package. Disgusting. The seer amount of optimistic crap emanating from his aura is enough to make any sensible person sick. His name was Tahlaer – He took a moment to tell us just how important we were to the Solrah and how we were important to the vanquishing of the undead forces. He mistakes my intent. I do not care if they are eradicated. I simply wish to understand them. Shortly after he finishes another embodiment of ignorance appears. This man came in riding a dragon of all things! I won’t be insulting him to his face.

We made it back to Oria with little issue. Smokejack tripped over a root. I chuckled, Lavinia laughed until she cried, Sajin even smiled. It was a good day.

We arrived at Oria and got right to work prepping for the journey. We devised that the quickest way would be to travel north to Jord and hire the services of a boat and crew to carry us down there. We also decided that we should equip ourselves better. Through the shopping experience I met a wizard whose name escapes me now. He offered to imbue my newly purchased Warhammer. I agree, this wizard had a strange sense about him. I felt as if I trusted this passerby. When he imbued the hammer he also inquired about the book I was given back in Valbridge. He claimed to be a friend of the man who gave it to me and that he could decrypt the book. In exchange for this act we were to go investigate a large spider and its connection to peoples’ disappearance in recent weeks.

Begrudgingly we agree to this arrangement. The book is worthless if we have no way of reading it. We travel Northeast about a half a day following the trail of spider web along the path. Sajin and Smokejack claimed there was nothing there, but how would they know? I am the one with the knowledge of magic after all! How could they possibly spot an illusion that I could not?!

We follow the trail for half a day. At this time, I’m inclined to entertain Sajin and Smokejack. I simply use my attunement to the arcane arts and try to detect any magical properties. While doing this a giant spider appears and starts to charge us. Steeling my resolve, I concentrate on the detection and see that they were right. This illusion is very life like. Reading for combat I wait as the spider charges us. Without moving a muscle, I wait for this fiend to attack and to my relief it dissipates.

On our way back to The Drunken Prayer, I separated myself from Smokejack; he wanted some ale and I wanted to investigate Valbridge further. I eventually found myself sitting at a fountain, lost in thought over everything I had been through the last week. I was trying to mentally prepare myself for the journey ahead. My daydream was interrupted by the sound of a gathering crowd near the mercenary camps. I looked over and saw one of the men in my party…Aleric, I don’t know why I was surprised to seem him in the middle of all this. I should have known. He seems to always look for trouble. He called out a Dwarf, who I saw throw down an axe as wager. What Aleric does next was a sight to see, he pulls out a dagger??? They go at it, and to my disbelief Aleric was victorious. He grabbed a small sack and the axe and I knew I needed to hear the details of this story. I quickly caught up to Aleric and Sajin at The Drunken Prayer. I’m still not sure why I decided to have a drink.. I knew that it was a bad idea, but found myself staring into the bottom of an empty mug. I began to slowly drift into a doubtful place… Thoaim noticed where my thoughts had gone as he had seen them many times before, and excused me to gain my composure. It was a long night but I knew I would need to be rested up to start the long trip to Oria in the morning.

Our journey to Oria was mostly a quiet one. Supplies were scarce, which seemed to keep spirits down. Despite this, we occasionally found ourselves in conversation, laughing and sharing stories of our past. It brought us closer. It was also great to spend time with my mentor, Thoaim. Unfortunately, our travels weren’t all clear. We were only traveling for a few days before we found ourselves looking into the face, well what I believed to be a face, of a shadow. I’m still not sure what it was, but I am working on getting more information about the creature. The four of us tried to act quickly. Unfortunately, Aleric and Smokejack were quickly placed into hypnotic state by this creature and eventually Smokejack fell unconscious from the creature’s mystical babbling. Sajin and I attempted to attack the otherworldly monster. We just had one problem, how could we defeat something we couldn’t touch? The shadow didn’t waver from it’s goal and continued to head for the refugees. It didn’t care that I was in it’s way as it simply passed through me and into the cart. I could hear screaming; we all could. I thought quickly and tried something irrational. I reached out and whipped one of the horses attached to the cart where the shadow had gone. The horses carried the cart away, and the shadow appeared before us. Sajin and I decided to work together this time and easily vanquished the shadow. There was still one more issue to address, the cart moving out of control with evacuees and Smokejack at it’s mercy. I started calling out to my feathery friends in hope they could help, but Aleric came to and made the hasty decision of hurling a molten rock at the back wheel of the wagon, sending Smokejack flying through the air and the refugees tumbling in the rolling cart! Thankfully Smokejack only suffered minor injuries, but unfortunately most of the other passengers were not so lucky.

We were so relieved to make it to Oria! The town was much better prepared for the escapees, but the accommodations were still scarce. Fortunate for us, Smokejack quickly made arrangements with the innkeeper for payment on his room. Once settled, Smokejack and I refocused on our mission to find Daely. After some investigation, we found that she was working in the infirmary. We found her tending to the injured. I couldn’t understand what Smokejack and Daely were saying as they were speaking in her native Elvish tongue. Although I couldn’t understand what they were saying their body language and tone gave me the clues I needed. During their conversation I wondered why I had assumed she would be young. Now, seeing her standing before me, I see a woman that should have left this land years ago. I am now glad she didn’t, for she had given Smokejack a lot of useful information. We now know that there are forces looking into finding the council members that I was tracking from Lannereth. I must make sure to find them before the Solrah does.

We made our way back to the Flying Fish Inn. Although I usually find solace in the wilderness, I am grateful for the opportunity to get a good night’s rest. The last few weeks have taken their tole on my group and I.

Traveling through the city to the capitol as tasked by a cleric. Not a goal I had in mind, but with the state of this city I have few options. My companions seem competent enough as we make haste towards the capitol building. The doors to the building have clearly been damaged by the creature with the long claws we spotted earlier, although it’s intent is uncharacteristic as it appears to move with purpose rather than instinct. As we make our way with caution through the building, the disfigured man is clearly disturbed by the evidence of the creature. Interesting, but of no consequence at this time. The council chamber has been compromised as well, and I suspect the creature is still within this building searching for something. This creature is clearly not something we are interested in confronting. Closer inspection of the council room discovered a secret passage underground.

This narrow tunnel gives me pause, but it is obvious that it will not afford the undead monstrosity room to enter and so our path is clear. The tunnel is cool and dark, our only illumination from my companion’s torch. The halfling moves with an assurance that I do not share, she seems to study the soft dirt underfoot to discern our path. Soon we make our way into the city’s aqueducts with the halfling leading us along. It has become apparent the council members used this tunnel to escape their pursuers. An illumination appears at the end of the aqueduct, it appears to be the cleric who tasked us with reaching the capitol building. She greets us as we emerge and tasks us yet again with a mission, we are to make our way to Oria in the northeast to rendezvous with a druid ally of this cleric. She hands the dwarf a small coin as an identifier to the druid and we make our way out of Lannereth.

The disfigured man seems to have taken lead and suggests we shelter in a small abandoned farmer’s house to get some rest for the night. Here we get a finally get the chance to exchange names and familiarize ourselves with each other. We are awoken early the next day by more of the shambling dead, but these appear to be remains of the earlier army and are much weaker. We dispatch them easily and decide to set out for Valbridge. Our travels are uneventful but swift as lead by Lavinia, but it is clear that many others have traveled this way as well to escape the carnage in Lannereth there may be many desperate refugees in the nearby settlements so we must be cautious.

Our arrival in the settlement on the lake confirms our suspicions of the refugees as the town is grossly overpopulated, with many people camped outside the gates. I am unsure of how to proceed as we settle among the refugees, my companions move quickly to gather supplies and information about the area. It isn’t long after waiting that Aleric returns to the camp but not alone. The man who joins Aleric is sleek and utterly confident, the kind of man who would use deception and subterfuge to attain his goals. He surveys me with an arrogant eye as though I am his lesser and I feel a twinge of annoyance. Aleric steps close and explains a wager he has arranged between myself and this man, of course without my knowing beforehand. Normally I would be offended that such an exchange took place without my blessing but this man clearly needs to know his place and I eagerly agree to meet him in friendly hand to hand combat. Other mercenaries and refugees quickly become aware of these happenings and quickly clear an area for our bout. The sleek man moves with a surprising amount of dexterity, and is clearly familiar to combat. We close in on each other and exchange a few blows, it quickly becomes apparent that striking this foe will be more difficult than expected. His nimble movement narrowly evades each of my blows, in return he delivers a few blows of his own only to have them dodged as well. Timing my strikes with his movement, I land a heavy shot which appears to stagger and shock him. I notice he leans back and reaches behind him as though he is grabbing something and lashes back at me, hitting me nearly as hard as I hit him. My vision is blurry and unfocused, I see him line up for another blow and everything fades to black.

I awake in a room that must be within one of the inns. Given the crowded nature of this town, it appears my troubadour companion, Smokejack, is equally proficient with the silver tongue as his quarterstaff. My companions are resting in the common room when I make my way down. I sit to join them but hear a familiar voice within the common rabble. I scan the room and spot someone from my past, although her presence here is a mystery. I approach her to find her intent, but she does not seem interested in talking with me. This is unsurprising as she made her feelings toward me clear years ago. I see no further purpose in pushing, she must simply be here merely by coincidence. I make my way back to our table. As I take my seat, Aleric enters the inn, followed by a tall elderly man. Lavinia nearly bursts with excitement to see this man. It appears to be a member of her past, her mentor. This is quite fortunate for our party as he is leading a caravan of refugees to Jord and invites us to join him. We have another day to rest before making our way to Oria. I surely hope to restore a bit of pride before we leave. -Sajin

When the horde finally appeared, it was a conglomeration of all things unholy, risen from their graves. The fear was seeping into everyone, causing a break down in order. A man, with half his face scarred, was barking some advice, he seemed to know a bit about the mob we were facing. Firing everything I had seemed to have no effect on them. By the time the horde reached the walls, most defenders had fled. The disfigured man, a human monk, and a halfling seemed competent, and likely provided the best chance at living through this mess. When the horde did break through the gate, the skill of the group showed. Then the unholy artillery fell, giant carcasses awash in blue flame. Burning where it hit, causing us to fall back as well. As the horde advanced so did the artillery, we could no longer avoid it, in what I thought was our last moments, an angel of Moradin saved us, she could have only been crafted of the finest materials by him alone. Revived from her presence, she directed us to the capitol, and it was to there we made haste. -Smokejack

As you make your way through the city square heading toward the main entrance you are having to weave through crowds of panicked citizens who are frantically hurrying to their homes for shelter. The Vassal has called for all gates to be barred and all draftees to report to their commanding officers. Words pass by quickly as you slip through the mobs but you are able to gather that a scout has finally made it back, but hardly with his life. People mention frozen blight and death heading toward Lannereth. You begin to realize that you are no longer fighting the masses but it hasn’t become any easier to move forward. It feels as though there is an unseen force pressing firmly on your chest. As you make your way up the steps the weight of your legs seem unbearable. From the bastion you can make out the fear, like the rustling of Autumn leaves in the wind. In the distance you catch a cool blue glow sauntering slowly over the bluff. As the formation makes it’s way over the open farmland, you begin to make out bulky figures swaying melodically. Many of the fledglings have begun to shirk their responsibilities and crawl back into the corners. It is now apparent that tragedy is about to strike hard into the land of Amadar, and you seem to have found yourself in the epicenter.

I don't think I'll be able to live up to this.

Hey guys, check this out. Great example of some D&D action going down. And for those that didn’t know, Vin Diesel is a HUGE fan of the game. He says that he wouldn’t have become an actor if he wasn’t introduced to D&D. http://nerdist.com/watch-vin-diesel-play-dungeons-dragons-as-the-last-witch-hunter/

Nothing formal about this session. We’re just meeting together to talk about character creation and work together to come up with a concept of the hero that each player is envisioning. I (The DM) will be asking some questions about races covered in Chapter 2 of the Player’s Handbook (PHB) so please don’t forget to read it before coming. There are only 10 pages so it won’t take long. For those that don’t have a physical copy of the PHB, you can view a PDF version at http://www.aegisoft.be/costa/data/roleplay/D&D%203.5%20-%20Players%20Handbook%20%5BOEF%5D.pdf

The adventure log is where you list the sessions and adventures your party has been on, but for now, we suggest doing a very light “story so far” post. Just give a brief overview of what the party has done up to this point. After each future session, create a new post detailing that night’s adventures.

One final tip: Don’t stress about making your Obsidian Portal campaign look perfect. Instead, just make it work for you and your group. If everyone is having fun, then you’re using Obsidian Portal exactly as it was designed, even if your adventure log isn’t always up to date or your characters don’t all have portrait pictures.